Surviving Plague Town

Day 49

September 13, 2013

You can't nurse injuries too much in the current world. That goes for emotional trauma too. I couldn't let Jackie's death shake me up too much, but it was hard. It still is.

I woke up with a dull headache. Probably the remnants of Rap hitting me over the head.

I proceeded to mope around when I wasn't needed to wrap wounds or cook. Most of my time was spent in the attic of the barn.

Nothing seemed to take my mind off of my loss. On top of that, my dad would never walk normally again. That was the curse of being knee-capped. He'd walk with a limp for the rest of his life.

Around noon, Nick returned with my brother and Juliana from hunting. I managed to drag myself from the barn to greet them.

"I need to talk to you," I said, making sure Nick was the only person who heard.

He nodded discreetly. The two of us headed for the edge of the field.

"What's up?" Nick asked when the silence got too uncomfortable.

I didn't rush my answer. "I want you out of here. Tomorrow."

Nick raised his eyebrows in surprise, but he said nothing.

"There are too many people here. Take some supplies and hit the road." It felt harsh, but I found I didn't care. "It doesn't matter to me what you do, just don't do it here."

Nick waited for me to say something else, anything else, but I was done. My apologies weren't going to make a difference at this point.

I realized as soon as Nick walked away that Juliana wouldn't be happy. Or she'd be overjoyed. Although, I doubted it.

Being the emotionally drained whip that I am, I decided to let Nick tell her.

"So Nick's leaving," Juliana said after dinner as the two of us sat alone on the patio. It wasn't a question.

"We can't keep this up," I said, avoiding the conversation's center.

"Can't keep what up?"

"There are too many people here. We need more people than just Nick to leave."

I watched Juliana's hooded eyes as she mulled over my words. She'd hate leaving anyone in her family, we all would, but it had to be done, and sooner rather than later.

-Carmen, the harsh